Page No 14:

Question 1:

How is
Ausable different from other secret agents?

Answer:

Ausable
was different from other secret agents in more
ways than one. He had a small room in the musty corridor of a gloomy
French hotel. It was on the sixth and top floor and it was scarcely
the setting for a romantic adventure. He was extremely fat. Inspite
of living in Paris for over twenty years, he spoke French and German
only passably and had an American accent. Instead of getting messages
slipped into his hands by dark-eyed beauties, he got only a telephone
call making an appointment. In these ways, he was different from the
conventional notion of a spy.

Page No 14:

Question 2:

Who is Fowler and what is
his first authentic thrill of the day?

Answer:

Fowler was a writer and he
had come to meet Ausable.

Fowler’s first
authentic thrill of the day came when he saw
a man in Ausable’s room pointing a pistol towards Ausable and
himself.

Page No 15:

Question 1:

How has Max got in?

Answer:

Max
had got into the room with a passkey or a
master key.

Page No 15:

Question 2:

How does
Ausable say he got in?

Answer:

Ausable
said that he thought Max had got into the
room through the balcony. He said that it was the second time in a
month that somebody had got into his room this way.

Page No 18:

Question 1:

“Ausable
did not fit any description of a secret agent Fowler hand ever read.”
What do secret agents in books and films look like, in your opinion?
Discuss in groups or in class some stories or movies featuring spies,
detectives and secret agents, and compare their appearance
with that of Ausable in this story. (You may mention characters from
fiction in languages other than English. In English fiction you may
have come across Sherlock Holmes, Hercule Poirot, or Miss Marple.
Hove you watched any movies featuring James Bond?)

Answer:

This question requires you to use your own perspective as well as your analytical skills. The answer to the question would vary from one person to another. It is suggested that you read the text carefully and try attempting it on your own.

Page No 18:

Question 2:

How does
Ausable manage to make Max believe that there is a balcony attached
to his room? Look back at his detailed description of it. What makes
it a convincing story?

Answer:

Ausable
created a convincing story about the presence of a balcony.
He said that twice in a month somebody had entered his room through
the balcony. On being questioned by Max about the balcony, he replied
with extreme irritation that it was not his balcony. This reaction,
which looked natural, played a part in convincing Max. He further
told Max explanatorily that his room was earlier a part of a larger
unit and the adjoining room was the one which had the balcony. He
said that it extended under his window. His manner of description and
speaking convinced Max that there was indeed a balcony under his
window.

Page No 18:

Question 3:

Looking
back at the story, when do you think
Ausable thought up his plan for getting rid of Max? Do you think he
had worked out his plan in detail right from the beginning? Or did he
make up a plan taking advantage of events as they happened?

Answer:

It
seems that Ausable had worked out the plan right from the beginning.
He did not take any time to let Max know about the presence of a
balcony. His story seemed pretty much thought out and he was
convincing in his narration. The timing of the knock on the door was
perfect because he had already asked the waiter, Henry, to bring him
a bottle of drink and two glasses after he returned. Therefore,
he was expecting his knock on the door and accordingly, he told Max
that it was the police whom he had asked to check in to make sure
everything was alright. At the end, the calm with which he told
Fowler, who was terrified, that there was no police and that he had
expected the waiter to come in with his order shows that he was not
surprised by the sudden turn of events and Max’s turning up at
his room. Such a detailed and well-knit plan gives the impression
that it was pre-planned and that he was prepared for it.